Overview of the Three Centers Often Created in the Aftermath of Mass Violence Incidents

Thursday, March 27, 2025
3:00 pm to 4:30 P.M. EDT

In the aftermath of many mass violence incidents (MVIs), local, state, national, Tribal and Federal leaders collaborate to create three Centers that identify and address the many needs of victims, survivors, first responders and the community-at-large:

Friends & Relatives Center (FRC)
Family Assistance Center (FAC)
Resiliency Center (RC)

While each Center and its services are unique to the impacted community, national guidance and protocols have been created that can help communities plan for the most critical components of each Center, which can be easily adapted to a specific community and MVI. This National Town Hall will provide an overview of each Center; resources available to help support them; and the continuum of services that are provided across the implementation of each Center.

As a result of participating in this National Town Hall, attendees will be able to:

Define the core planning activities necessary to establish each Center, and the Federal and national resources – including potential sources of funding – to support each Center.
Identify the specific services and support (including similarities and differences among Centers) provided by a Friends & Relatives Center, a Family Assistance Center, and a Resiliency Center.
Describe effective strategies to create a seamless delivery of case management and services across the continuum of the three Centers.

ASL Interpreters will be visible during the live webinar.

Presenters

Eugenia Pedley is the Senior Program Manager for Mass Violence and Terrorism at the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) within the U.S. Department of Justice. Since joining OVC in June 2012, Ms. Pedley has worked with communities and organizations across the country that request Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP) funding to support victims of these incidents. She provides guidance on grant development, technical assistance on victim support programs, and grant monitoring; and led the development of the Helping Victims of Mass Violence and Terrorism: Planning, Response, Recovery, and Resources Toolkit. She also manages several mass violence awards and programs that work to prepare for and respond to these incidents. Ms. Pedley has a background in law enforcement intelligence working for the FBI and other federal agencies prior to joining OVC.

Alyssa Rheingold, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and Professor at the National Crime Victims Center. She is the Director of the Response, Recovery & Resilience Division of the National Mass Violence Center. Dr. Rheingold has been funded for both service and research projects by CDC, NIMH, OVW, VAWA, VOCA, SAMHSA, and OVC. Her expertise includes EBT of trauma related mental health issues, grief & loss, and traumatic loss by homicide. She was instrumental in the immediate response & evidence-based mental health services and resiliency and recovery efforts to those impacted by the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston, SC. She has published over 80 peer reviewed articles & book chapters in trauma, bereavement, & victimization and has served on the board of the Int’l Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. She has provided several trainings including Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Loss by Homicide, GRIEF Approach, Traumatic Grief, Impact of Witnessing Domestic Violence, Stress Management, Impact of Mass Violence, Early Interventions for Trauma Exposure, and Prolonged Exposure for PTSD.

Angela Moreland, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC) at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Dr. Moreland currently serves as the Associate Director of the National Mass Violence Center (NMVC), an OVC-funded initiative aimed at improving community preparedness and the nation’s capacity to serve victims recovering from mass violence through research, planning, training, technology, and collaboration. Dr. Moreland also serves as the Director of the Improving Community Preparedness Division of the NMVC.

Anne Seymour has been a national advocate for crime victims and survivors for 40 years and is the Associate Academic Program Director for the NMVC. She began her career in 1984 as the Director of Public Affairs for the National Office of MADD and, from 1985 to 1993, as co-founder and Director of Communications and Resource Development of the National Center for Victims of Crime. She has been involved in several mass crisis responses, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the Navy Yard mass shooting in September 2013, among others. Ms. Seymour served as a Lead Consultant to plan and implement OVC’s 2009 “Assisting Victims of Terrorism and Mass Violence” National Symposium and helped develop a mass violence training curriculum in 2016 for the District of Columbia Advanced Victim Services Academy. Seymour has received numerous honors for her efforts, including the 2018 U.S. Congressional Victims’ Rights Caucus Lifetime Achievement Award and the 1992 “Outstanding Services to Crime Victims” award from President Bush.

Maggie Feinstein is the Executive Director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership, where she has served for three years. She is a master’s level professional counselor who has distinguished herself in the field of integrated mental health. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in International Relations and received her master’s degree from the University of San Francisco in Counseling Psychology. She worked in San Francisco and Anchorage before returning to Pittsburgh. She currently resides in Squirrel Hill with her husband and two children.

Dr. Staci A. Beers has over 30 years of experience as a victim advocate in the criminal justice system. Since joining the FBI's Victim Services Division (VSD) in 2010, she has supported victims of domestic and international terrorism. Her duties include liaising with next of kin, coordinating medical evacuations and remains repatriation, providing crisis intervention, and acting as a contact between victims and the FBI. She also manages trauma notification training. Staci is a Crisis Response Canine handler for Wally, a 10-year-old Labrador trained to assist crime victims by reducing stress and anxiety after violent crimes. Together, they have responded to major events, including the San Bernardino shooting, Boston Marathon bombing, and Pulse Nightclub shooting. Staci previously led the VSD’s Victim Services Response Team (VSRT) in major events such as the 2015 Charleston and Lafayette shootings, the 2016 Dallas Police and Pulse Nightclub shootings, and the 2022 Uvalde shooting. She has also coordinated Family Assistance Centers for these tragedies. Staci earned her Doctor of Social Work from the University of Southern California and has published in Overcoming Loss: The Other Victims of Homicide and Days in the Lives of Social Workers. She has taught criminal justice courses at DeSales University for over 20 years.

Krista R. Flannigan, J.D., is an attorney, educator, and victim advocate with expertise in emergency response, disaster management, media relations, and community collaboration. She has advocated for victims of mass violence, sexual abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, and other crimes throughout her career. Krista has responded to numerous mass violence and terrorism incidents across the country, providing immediate support and helping communities develop long-term services for those affected. She played a key role in creating a national resource E-toolkit for coordinated victim services in response to mass violence and terrorism and works with communities and universities to develop victim response plans. Krista trains nationally on topics including coordinated community response, high-profile trials, vicarious trauma, trauma-informed care, and the impact of mass tragedy on victims and communities. Krista co-authored two guidebooks and a training video about community response to victims of high-profile mass tragedy trials and wrote a book on lessons learned from supporting disaster survivors. She also advises the Crime Victim Research and Policy Institute at Florida State University, where she served as faculty, developing and teaching courses for a victim services special studies program.